If you
think electronic chartplotters put paper charts out of a job, consider
what Sea Ray's latest technology could do to your entire helm station.

This
summer Sea Ray launched a 68-footer that may not only redefine the way
boaters interact with their yachts, but also launch a new age of recreational
boating. With the help of Digital Marine Panels of America (DMP America)
and Radio Zeeland, Sea Ray gave its prototype 680 Super Sport a fully
integrated helm, complete with navigational controls, engine and shipboard
monitoring, and full electronics. But here's the kicker: All helm
instruments, gauges, and controls are contained within two touch-screen
monitors.

If the
idea of controlling your boat exclusively through a computer and a few
touch screens makes you a little seasick, fear not. At the heart of the
system is a technology that was developed for, and proven to work in,
megayachts and commercial ships over the past decade.

In fact,
in PMY's February issue, we reported on the exact megayacht
helm technology from which Sea Ray built its system. In the article "2001:
An Odyssey We Ought to See," Mike Reischmann, who heads DMP America,
a leading developer of integrated helms, foreshadowed Sea Ray's
achievement. He claimed that by 2001, cutting-edge megayacht technology
would begin to trickle down to the less-than-80-foot boat market. The
new 680SS prototype is the first trickle.